Political violence and insecurity continued in 2007 according to annual report by Amnesty International (AI)

Political violence and insecurity continued in 2007, the same year where an organic law on the right of women to live free from violence entered into force, according to its annual report submitted on Tuesday by Amnesty International (AI). In 2007 'a number of demonstrations ended in violent clashes between different groups of protesters and between protesters and the police,' said AI in the chapter on Venezuela as part of its annual report on the state of the world's human rights, Efe quoted. AI recalled that President Hugo Chávez took office for a third term in January and the National Assembly granted him powers to pass legislation by decree for 18 months on a wide range of issues including public security and institutional reform. It noted also that Venezuelans rejected controversial constitutional changes in a referendum.As for political violence, Amnesty International claimed, 'the authorities did not take effective action to stop an escalation of violence in the context of demonstrations by supporters and opponents of government policies.'